Israel continues its air raids in the Gaza Strip, despite calls for a ceasefire on Tuesday March 26. The day before, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution calling for a “immediate ceasefire”, a first since the start of the conflict, hailed internationally. The Hamas Health Ministry reported 70 deaths overnight from Monday to Tuesday, including 13 in airstrikes near Rafah. At least two large hospitals, accused by Israel of housing Hamas bases, were targeted by army operations on Monday. Follow our live stream.
A UN rapporteur accuses Israel of committing “acts of genocide” in Gaza. The United Nations special rapporteur for the Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, says it “reasonable grounds exist” to believe that Israel has committed several “acts of genocide”in a report published Monday, also mentioning a “ethnic cleansing”. She is due to present her report to the Human Rights Council on Tuesday.
Hamas accuses Israel of “failure” of truce talks in Gaza. The Islamist movement accuses Israel of being “fully responsible” of “failure” talks so far. Hamas, which until now demanded a definitive ceasefire in Gaza before any exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, changed its position on March 14 by saying it was in favor of a six-week truce.
The United States reiterates its opposition to an offensive in Rafah. The head of American diplomacy once again warned Israel of the humanitarian risks of an offensive on the city of Rafah, where there are 1.4 million people, most of them having fled the bombings. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken “stressed the existence of alternatives to a full-scale ground invasion, which would both better ensure Israel’s security and protect Palestinian civilians”.